Gucci empowers women to incite change. Image credit: Gucci.
French luxury conglomerate Kering has reaffirmed its commitment to create and maintain an equal and inclusive environment for all employees worldwide as it celebrates the LGBTQIA+ Pride month of June.
The Paris-based company already has an internal LGBTQIA+ and allied community call ALL. The parent company and ALL’s commitments are also being channeled through member brand efforts such as Balenciaga’s “Love Is for Everyone” campaign and Gucci’s Chime for Change.
“We are extremely proud to celebrate and support Pride Month,” said Béatrice Lazat, chief people officer of Kering, in a statement.
“At Kering, we believe that diversity and equality are key pillars of a sustainable and creative company,” she said. “We have a continued commitment to foster and maintain a supportive and inclusive work environment for all our employees around the world, including our LGBTQIA+ community.
“Kering looks forward to reaching new milestones as it increases the momentum of its initiatives.”
Kering is parent to brands such as Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Girard-Perregaux, Pomellato, Brioni, Boucheron, Alexander McQueen, DoDo, Qeelin, Ulysse Nardin and Kering Eyewear.
The company boasts 38,000 employees, most of whom have been retained even as the COVID-19 lockdowns took their toll on business.
Unity in diversity
The company’s commitments to the LGBTQIA+ community include:
• Promote LGBTQIA+ diversity and inclusivity internally
• Create an inclusive environment where every LGBTQIA+ individual is valued
• Guarantee equal treatment and equitable benefits for LGBTQIA+
• Create an inclusive community and develop a sense of pride of belonging to the group
Broader sustainability agenda
In addition, as part of its 2025 sustainability strategy, Kering is promoting diversity through a series of commitments such as:
• Kering became a signatory to the UN Standards of Conduct for Business, which tackles discrimination against LGBTQ individuals
• Kering and key leaders across the fashion industry joined together to sign the “Open to All” pledge
• Kering’s group-wide baby family leave policy extends benefits to all new parents and their partners, including every family type, regardless of gender
• Kering signed the ‘Friends of the Court’ amicus brief which called for the federal protection of the LGBTQ civil rights for equal employment, housing, healthcare and education opportunities in the United States
• ALL was created last year as an inclusive internal group for the LGBTQIA+ community and its supporters at Kering to connect and educate by raising awareness internally and externally. ALL now has more than 700 ambassadors in countries including the U.S., Qatar, Brazil, Italy, France, United Kingdom and Australia.